Movies I Watched in January

Movies I Watched in January

January has come to an end, and it was a month filled with diverse stories from all around the world. From indie dramas to international gems, here is the complete list of the 23 movies I watched this month.

Watchlist

• Karina [ALB]
• God’s Creatures [IRE]
• The Jacket [USA]
• Semret [SUI]
• Land and Shade (La Tierra y la Sombra) [COL]
• Buckley’s Chance [AUS]
• Tides (The Colony) [GER]
• 3000 Nights (3000 Layla) [PLE]
• Narcosis [NLD]
• On the Pulse (Vivants) [FRA]
• Miraciyye: Hidden Heritage [TUR]
• The Taste of Things (La Passion de Dodin Bouffant) [FRA]
• Erased (Izbrisana) [SVN]
• The Major Tones (Los Tonos Mayores) [ARG]
• Walking Distance (Distancias Cortas) [MEX]
• Costa Brava, Lebanon [LBN]
• The White Ship (Belyy Parokhod) [KGZ]
• Our Father (Padrenostro) [ITA]
• The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu) [JPN]
• Black Beauty [GBR]
• The Road to Mother (Anaga Aparar Jol) [KAZ]
• The Personal History of David Copperfield [GBR]
• A Hope (Bir Umut) [TUR]

1. Karina 🇦🇱

“The weight of silence.” Albanian cinema often hits different because it carries the scars of a very specific history. Karina isn’t just a drama; it’s a study of how the past doesn’t stay in the past. If you like films where the environment tells as much of the story as the dialogue, this is it.

2. God’s Creatures 🇮🇪

“Motherly love vs. The Truth.” Paul Mescal and Emily Watson are a powerhouse duo here. It’s that classic Irish “small town, big secrets” vibe, but it forces you to ask: How far would you go to protect your own blood, even if they’ve done the unthinkable? It’s uncomfortable in the best way.

3. The Jacket 🇺🇸

“A trip through the mind’s basement.” This is the “dark horse” of 2000s sci-fi. It feels like a mix of The Butterfly Effect and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Adrien Brody’s face alone conveys enough existential dread to power a city. Definitely one for the late-night overthinkers.

4. Semret 🇨🇭

“The invisible struggle.” This one is a reality check. We often see Europe as a finish line for refugees, but Semret shows the quiet, grinding work of building a life after the cameras move on. It’s intimate, respectful, and honestly, quite heartbreaking.

5. Land and Shade 🇨🇴

“Ash, dust, and dignity.” Warning: This is a slow burn — like, real slow. But every frame looks like a painting. It captures the decay of rural life in Colombia so vividly you can almost feel the soot on your skin. It’s about a family trying to stay rooted while the world literally burns around them.

6. Buckley’s Chance 🇦🇺

“Outback soul food.” After the heavy hitters above, you need this. It’s a classic “boy and his dog” (well, dingo) story. Bill Nighy brings that effortless charm. It’s the kind of movie that reminds you that sometimes nature is the best therapist.

7. Tides (The Colony) 🇩🇪

“Visual sci-fi at its peak.” The aesthetic here is incredible — lots of fog, mud, and gray tones. It doesn’t rely on massive CGI explosions; it relies on atmosphere. It’s a grim look at what happens when the “elite” return to a planet they abandoned. Very Ridley Scott-esque.

8. 3000 Nights 🇵🇸

“Resilience behind bars.” This is a tough watch but an essential one. It turns a prison cell into a microcosm of the Palestinian struggle. The fact that it’s based on true accounts makes the survival of hope in such a dark place feel even more miraculous.

9. Narcosis 🇳🇱

“The surreal side of grief.” Grief isn’t just crying; sometimes it’s weird, magical, and confusing. Narcosis captures that perfectly. The way the family handles the father’s disappearance feels grounded yet dreamlike. It’s a very “human” look at the holes people leave behind.

10. On the Pulse (Vivants) 🇫🇷

“Adrenaline in the newsroom.” If you loved The Newsroom or Nightcrawler, this is your jam. it captures that specific “high” journalists get from chasing a story. It’s about the ethics, the ego, and the rush of being where the action is. Very snappy, very French.

11. Miraciyye: Hidden Heritage 🇹🇷

“A soul searching for its roots.” This isn’t just a documentary; it’s a restoration of memory. It explores the deep-rooted “Miraciyye” musical tradition of the Ottoman era with such spiritual grace that you feel the serenity in every note. It’s like a cultural detective story for the soul.

12. The Taste of Things 🇫🇷

“Gastronomic poetry.” Do not watch this on an empty stomach. Beyond the incredible food, the film captures the “choreography” of a long-term relationship. Juliette Binoche is radiant. It’s a sensory masterpiece where cooking is the ultimate language of love.

13. Erased (Izbrisana) 🇸🇮

“The ghost of bureaucracy.” Imagine waking up to find the state has deleted you. Based on a true historical scandal in Slovenia, this Kafkaesque nightmare shows how a person can become a “legal ghost” overnight. It’s a chilling, frustrating, yet vital watch.

14. The Major Tones 🇦🇷

“The frequency of growing up.” This is Argentinian magical realism at its finest. A teenage girl starts hearing Morse code through a metal plate in her arm. It’s a perfect metaphor for that awkward, “out of sync” feeling of being a teenager. Very quirky and visually distinct.

15. Walking Distance 🇲🇽

“A lens into a hidden world.” A story about a 440-pound man who finds a new connection to the world through a camera lens. It avoids being “pity porn” and instead focuses on a quiet, dignified friendship. It’s a gentle reminder that life starts when you find something to love.

16. Costa Brava, Lebanon 🇱🇧

“The trash and the treasure.” A family flees the chaos of Beirut for an eco-utopia, only for the government to build a garbage landfill right on their doorstep. It’s a brilliant allegory for the internal and external struggles of modern Lebanon. Beautiful, yet suffocating.

17. The White Ship 🇰🇬

“Where myths meet tragedy.” Based on Chingiz Aitmatov’s masterpiece, this is a titan of Soviet-era cinema. It pits the innocence of a child’s folklore against the brutal reality of the adult world. It’s haunting, mythical, and deeply tragic.

18. Our Father (Padrenostro) 🇮🇹

“Childhood in the line of fire.” Set during Italy’s violent “Years of Lead,” it focuses on the trauma of a boy witnessing an assassination attempt on his father. It’s an atmospheric coming-of-age story that explores how political violence bleeds into the sanctity of family.

19. The Wind Rises 🇯🇵

“Dreams are cruel things.” Miyazaki’s most “adult” film. It’s a melancholic tribute to Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero fighter plane. It’s a breathtaking look at the dilemma of a creator: making something beautiful that you know will be used for destruction.

20. Black Beauty 🇬🇧

“The wisdom of a silent soul.” The 1994 version remains the gold standard. Seeing the world through a horse’s eyes provides a unique perspective on human cruelty and kindness. It’s a nostalgic emotional roller-coaster that still hits hard today.

21. The Road to Mother 🇰🇿

“History through a mother’s eyes.” This is an absolute epic. It covers the most turbulent years of Kazakhstan — collectivization, war, and famine — all held together by the simple, powerful hope of a mother and son reuniting. It’s grand in scale but deeply personal in its heart.

22. The Personal History of David Copperfield 🇬🇧

“Dickens with a shot of adrenaline.” Armando Iannucci takes a classic, dusty novel and turns it into a Technicolor riot. It’s fast, funny, and incredibly inclusive. Dev Patel is perfect as Copperfield. It reminds you that even when life is a mess, your story is worth telling.

23. A Hope (Bir Umut) 🇹🇷

“The weight of unsaid words.” A raw and grounded look at a man caught between his past and his present. It captures that specific Turkish family dynamic where silence speaks louder than words. It’s a quiet, reflective film that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll.

Conclusion: January Reflections

Looking back at this list, January was a month of deep dives. You didn’t just watch movies; you traveled across 23 different realities, from the windswept hills of Ireland to the bustling newsrooms of France and the spiritual heritage of Turkey.

The common thread here is Resilience. Whether it’s a horse surviving the Victorian era, a mother erased by bureaucracy in Slovenia, or an engineer dreaming of the sky in Japan, every one of these films explores how we keep moving when the world gets heavy.

This watchlist is a testament to the power of global cinema — reminding us that while our languages and flags are different, the things that make us cry, laugh, and hope are exactly the same.